78% Indian MSMEs shut down during Covid-19 Pandemic: Report

78 percent of Indian MSMEs had to pull their shutters down due to the lockdown imposed to Curb the spread of Covid-19, said research titled “The Ground Truth – Voice of Indian Borrowers” by Spocto.

Spocto, one of India’s leading big data analytics-based banking and financial services company, has initiated a comprehensive well-detailed study entitled ‘The Ground Truth – Voice of Indian borrowers’. The report consists of views and insights from 1,800 account holders across cities pan India namely Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, etc., wherein the study presents actual and actionable insights from the consumers on moratorium.

The study primarily revealed the following key findings;

• 59% of consumers witnessed complete loss of income due to COVID-19
• 34% employees from present workforce pool have lost their jobs
• As a result of the fiscal depravity, a staggering 78% of the MSMEs were forced to shut down operations due to zero revenue generation.
• 76% of the overall account holders have taken small-ticket loans amounting to Rs 50,000 in EMIs while it is mostly the unsecured loans that have contributed to the plunge in repayments than secured loans
• 78% of the consumers opted in for the initial Moratorium period (March to May), which implies that 22% either willingly chose to opt out or did not OPT IN from their bank’s Moratorium offer.
• 75% of the borrowers highlighted the need for more clarity and education surrounding moratorium. In a similar vein, 64% of the borrowers affirmed that they are aware of the interest that is levied on availing the moratorium clause.
• 38% consumers prefer to speak or interact with a human interface to get their queries resolved
• Digital is the new de-facto medium for 62% of the loan borrowers reflecting on their need for real time, bias free, consistent & authentic resolutions
• In another frame, about 28% consumers were discontented with the level of conversation with their banks 46% only are satisfied with the banks efforts on explaining the terms of Moratorium to its customers
• 37% consumers stated that they require support from the financial system in the form of essential loans for personal expenditure in the next 12 months
• Lastly, more than 56% customers are now yearning to opt out of the Moratorium

Sumeet Srivastava, Founder and CEO said, “The year 2020 has proven to be the proverbial Black swan event for all industries and their professionals. This period has also unfolded a few valuable takeaways, namely, that it is time the banking and lending ecosystem revamp their engagement policies and strategies, as their customers may not have the means to pay back their loans within the allotted time-frame. But this also on the other end implies that, they may have the willingness, but not the ability to pay right now.

Also Read: Finance Minister announces liquidity scheme for MSME, NBFCs

“The banks must also keep in mind that these customers who are victims of the market inertia with all probability shall return to the financing space in the span of a year or two with at least 15-20 years of potential service. Hence banks should rather value the long term customer rather than smite down a short term defaulter. The banks too should focus on the heightened optimization of digital and efficient pathways of loan disbursement and recovery to generate greater consumer traction and engagement. This will not only help the ailing sector get back to its feet in due time but will also catalyze the re-building and recuperation of the considerable hammering that the sector experienced due to the catastrophic contagion.’’

Lending organizations that prioritizes consumer engagement and digital collections, will witness the resurgence of revenue flows and hopefully carve a better and ebullient future in contrast to the present doldrums of the stifling post-pandemic scenario.

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